Snow-guard for roofs.



l UNITED Slnrltsl 4lhirnixrr Gruen..

CHARLES H. GILMAN, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.`

`SNOW-GUARD FoR'RooFs.v

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters PatentNO. 659,392, dated October 9, 1900.

i Application filed December `20, 1897. Serial No. 662,548. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. GILMAN, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Snow-Guards for Roofs, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, Ais a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in snow-guards for roofs, and more especially to that class of guards which are adapted to be applied to the roof after the slates or shingles have been laid.

It has for its object to produce a guard which is neat, strong, durable, effective, and easily applied, one which may be used to replace broken or otherwise destroyed wire guardsv which were placed upon the roof While being slated or shingled, and one which will have the sanne appearance as the other guards on the roof. K

The invention consists of a thin metal plate adapted to be inserted between two layers of the slates or shingles on the roof, so as to bey entirely out of sight, having means at its upper end whereby it will preferably automatically fasten itself in place and be prevented from being withdrawn after it has once been put in its proper position and having a snowstop made of a loop of wire which projects above the upper surface of the slates or shingles and is permanently attached to the thin metal plate by means of a shank portion made from the wire and which extends upward between the edges of the two abutting s1ates. The upper end of the shank portion is preferably dattened and attached within an oblong hole in the thin metal portion of the guard to assist in preventing the snow-stop from moving sidewise, whereby it may be held by riveting or by solder.

The invention is carried out substantially as illustrated on the accompanying drawings, which form an essential part of this specification, and whereon- Figure 1 represents a plan view of a portion of a roof supplied with my improved guard. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged section on the line AB, shownA in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a cross-section on the line C D, shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a perspective View of Figs.4

the preferred form of my invention.

5, 6, 7, and 8 represent side elevations of other forms of my invention.

Similar characters of reference refer t0` similar parts wherever they occur on the different parts of the drawings.

Heretofore snow-guards which were intended to be used upon roofs when the slates or shingles have been previously laid, or what are known as old-roof snow-guards,have either been made entirely of sheet metal and in one y vpiece or have been made in two detachable parts, one part of sheet metal-and the other part of wire, or bot-h parts have been made of wire. It has been found that when the guards are made of sheetl metal to be fastened to the roof they cannot be inserted within the joint between the meeting edges of the slate or shingles, and consequently it is necessary to lengthen them, so that the snow-stop will project above the lower end of the slates or shingles under which they are inserted. This increases the amount of metal required to manufacture the guard and adds to its cost. The snow-stop whenv made ofpsheet metal is from necessity made so large as to be very conspicuous when placed upon the roof, and consequently disfigu res the roof. It has also been found when the guards are part (the attaching part of the guard) is .applied to the roof and then the other part (the t snow-stop proper) is inserted Within the first part in order to hold the snow-stop lin proper position, that the snow-stop portions 'have become detached from the first-named part, and thus have leftv the roof unprotected from snow-slides and have defeated the object for which it was intended. It has been the object of my present invention to produce a snow-guard which will overcome these defects, and with this object in View my improved snow-guard is constructed as follows:

l represents the boarding of the roof, and 2 2 represent the slate or shingles upon the roof, secured thereto in the usual manner. My improved guard is adapted to be inserted between two layers of the slates or shingles, and it consists ofthe thin metal plate 3, having its upper end provided on either side with the slit 4, forming prongs 5 5, one on either side thereof, which are afterward bent downward in a manner substantially as illustrated in 8o made of two detachable parts, in which one ICO Figs. 2 and 4, so as to cause them to spring over the upper edge of the lower slate when the met-al plate ispushed up into proper place between the two layers of slates or shingles, and thereby securely hold the plate 3 against being withdrawn after it has once been inserted in proper position on the roof, as shown in Fig. 2. The slates pressing upon the plate keep it fastened. The plate 3 is Y provided near its lower end with the perforation 6, into which the wire portion of the guard is secured by riveting, soldering, or by other equivalent means. This wire portion of the guard consists of the shank portion 7, which, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 1, is bent downward at its upper end, being preferably flattened, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and is inserted within the perforation in the plate 3, where it is riveted, soldered, or otherwise firmly secured to said plate.

The particular shape of the snow stop forms no essential part of my present invention, and I have therefore illustrated diierent forms of said parton the drawings. I prefer, however, to use the forms shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 1, which is the form of the snow-stopshowu in the United States Letters Patent No. 557,797, issued to me April 7, 1896, and which has its shank portion provided with a loop S, under which the wire which forms the stop 9 passes during the forma-tion of the stop.

The metal plate 3 is preferably made of sufficient length to extend a short distance below the lower part of the snow-stop for a purpose to be understood by a further description of the guard.

'lhe shank portion 7 of the snow-stop is preferably flattened on opposite sides at 10, and said shank portion is raised above the surface of the plate 3. By this means I am able to insertthe guard into proper position between the slates or shingles when the slates or shingles are laid very closely together, as the shank portion will rest against the upper edge of the sides of the slates, and the part which is flat-tened is not weakened by so doing. It will be seen, as the snow-stop is secured to the metal plate 3 by means of a shank portion which extends upward a short distance on the plate, that the pressure of the snow on the stop will tend to force the stop downward toward the metal plate 3, and as the plate extends below the lower part of the stop there will be no danger of the stop oontacting with the under slate and breaking or injuring it, even if it is by any means forced downward sufficiently to bear heavily upon the plate. The stop 9 is preferably so formed that it rests on the top edges of the adjoining slates, and consequently is supported by a double or triple thickness of slates, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This form of stop is very strong, as the wire passing under the loop in the shank portion forms a brace which prevents it from being bent down flat against the roof.

In Fig. 5 the shank portion of the snow-stop is not provided with a loop 8 and is not raised above the surface of the plate 3, but rests upon said plate, as has been shown, it being attached to the plate by means of a rivet 1l. The end of the wire after forming the stop is carried downward from the top of the stop toward the lower end of the plate 3 and rests against the upper surface of said plate, it heing preferably bent so as to extend along the surface of the plate toward the other part of the stop.

In Fig. G the shank portion is not provided with a loop 8 and is not raised above the upper surface of the plate 3. It has, however, been shown as being riveted to the plate. The end of the wire after forming the stop has been at substantially a right angle, as at 12, and extends along the upper surface of the plate toward the lower end of the same.

In Fig. 7 both ends of the wire forming the snow-stop have been shown as being riveted to the plate.

In Fig. 8 I have shown another form of snow-stop which may be used in connection with my invention, in which form the stop is made by bending a single Wire into two loops projecting above the roof in a manner substantially as shown.

From the above description I wish it to be understood that the snow-stop used in this my improved invention may be made of wire of any desired cross-section, either fiat, round, square, or other shape, that it may be bent in various forms and may be attached by riveting, soldering, or by any other well-known equivalent means to the plate 3, and that it may be permanently attached by one end of said wire only or it may have both ends of the wire attached to the plate 3, if so desired. This my improved snow-guard is designed more especially to be used on old roofs, as above set forth; but it may be used upon new roofs, and when so used and inserted within the slates or shingles while they are being laid I prefer to attach the guard to the roof by means of a nail driven through the perforation 13 at the upper end of the plate 3 or by means of the common and well-known drive end. On the drawings I have illustrated the most convenient means for attaching the guard to the roof; but I do not wish to limit myself to the construction therein shown to accomplish that result,as other wellknown and equivalent devices might be substituted without departing from my invention. It will also be understood that the shank portion of the wire snow-stop might be varied in length and in some cases be entirely dispensed with, if so desired.

Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of myinvention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim- IOO IIO

1. A snow-guard of the class specified, consisting of a thin metal plate to attach the guard to the roof, and a Wire snow-stop having a loop portion to project above and t0 rest upon the upper surface of the roof, and a shank portion extending upward between the slates or shingles when in position on the roof, being raised in part above the surface of the thin metal plate, bent downward and permanently secured to said plate, for the purpose set forth.

2. A snow-guard of the class specified, consisting of a thin metal plate with fastening device to attach it to the roof as described, and a wiresnoW-stop with loop portion to project from and rest upon the upper surface of the roof, and a shank portion extending toward the top of said plate raised in part above the surface of the plate bent downward through a perforation in the plate and permanently secured thereto, being fastened to allow it to pass through the joints between slates or shingles when laid close'together, for the purpose set forth.

3. A snow-guard for roofs, consisting of a thin metal strip having a fastening device at its upper end, and a wire snow-stop at its lower end, having a shank portion extending toward the upper end of said metal strip and permanently secured to said strip, said metal strip projecting beyond any portion of the snow-stop and preventing said stop from coming into contact with the slates which are under the guard, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 18th day of December, A. D. 1897.

CHARLES H. GILMAN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CHADBOURN, HARRY H; BRYANT. 

